49ers Off To A 4-0 Start
September 6, 2005
PDF Version of this Release
| LONG BEACH STATE MEN'S WATER POLO | | Overall Record: 4-0 | | MPSF Record: 0-0 | | Latest National Ranking: No. 5 | This Week's Action:
Sept. 10-11 at Inland Empire Classic (Redlands) |
The Record: Long Beach State began its 2005 season in fine fashion by going 4-0 at the Navy Labor Day Open last weekend. The 4-0 start is the first for the 49ers since 1987. This weekend Long Beach will be taking part in the Inland Empire Classic, hosted by Redlands and LaVerne.
The Coach: Rick Azevedo is 94-78 (.547) in his seventh year as the head coach at Long Beach State.
The Series: The 49ers are 6-0 vs. Occidental, 2-0 vs. Redlands and 1-0 vs. Whittier. Last year the 49ers defeated Redlands 10-4 at the Campus Pool. The last meeting with Occidental came in 2003, a 14-3 49er triumph and the only meeting with Whittier College was in 1997, a 16-8 win at the Air Force Tournament.
Inland Empire Classic: The Inland Empire Classic will take place this Saturday and Sunday on the campuses of Redlands and LaVerne. On Saturday the 49ers tangle with Occidental at 12:45 pm and Cal Lutheran at 4:30 pm. Both of those games will be held at LaVerne. Occidental is 1-1 on the year and CLU is 2-1. On Sunday the 49ers will be playing on the Redlands campus, taking on Redlands at 9 am and Whittier at 12:45 pm. Redlands is 1-2 on the year, while Whittier is 1-3.
Navy Open Recap: The 49er offense was running on all cylinders at the Navy Open, scoring a total of 51 goals in the four games, an average of 12.75 goals per outing. Senior Brett McCleave led the attack with 15 goals,while Brad Scoles and Reid Tomassi both scored seven goals. Goalie Thomas Onyshko recorded a total of 31 saves.
LBSU 13, St. Francis (NY) 6: Brett McCleave led the 49ers with three goals and Thomas Onyshko had 10 saves as the 49ers prevailed in its season opener over the #12-ranked Terriers.
LBSU 11, Navy 10 (SD): Jay Gerardi scored the game-winner 48 seconds into sudden death to lift the 49ers to an 11-10 win over #15-ranked Navy. McCleave had a career-high five goals, while Gerardi and Reid Tomassi added two each.
LBSU 16, Iona 3: The 49ers broke open a tight game at the half (6-3), by out-scoring the Gaels 10-0 in the second half. Nine different players scored, led by McCleave's four tallies.
LBSU 11, Bucknell 6: Long Beach closed out the tournament with a win over Bucknell. Leading 3-2 after one quarter, the 49ers out-scored the Bison 4-1 in the second quarter to take a 7-3 halftime lead. McCleave and Scoles both scored three times in the victory.
Pre-Season Poll: The MPSF men's water polo coaches released their pre-season poll and the 49ers were tabbed to finish in sixth place. The predicted order of finish according to the coaches: 1. UCLA; 2. California; 3. USC; 4. Stanford; 5. Pepperdine, 6. LBSU; 7. UC Irvine; 8. Pacific; 9. UCSB.
Offense Returning: The 49ers return their top four goal scorers from last year, a quartet which accounted for 156 of the team's 260 total goals. Brett McCleave (50 goals), Reid Tomassi (41), Jay Gerardi (34) and Brad Scoles (31) accounted for 60% of all goals scored last season. Toss in the return of Erik Geoffroy (137 career goals), and the 49er offense is primed and ready to go.
Brett McCleave: Senior Brett McCleave (Lake Forest) got his senior season off to a great start at the Navy Open, tallying 15 goals in the four games. McCleave scored at least three goals in each contest, including a career-high five goals in the 11-10 sudden death win over Navy. McCleave was the 49ers leading scorer in all four games. For his efforts he was selected at the longbeachstate.com Athlete of the Week.
Thomas Onyshko: Senior goalie Thomas Onyshko (Simi Valley) recorded 31 saves in the four games last week, giving him 597 in his 49er career and propelling him past Adam Carter into the No. 2 spot on the 49er career chart. He needs just 128 more saves to become the school record-holder. Onyshko, who ranked second in the MPSF last year at 8.03 saves per game, is closing in on the No. 1 spot which is held by Brian Flint (724 saves). Onyshko tallied a season-high 10 saves in the opener against St. Francis (NY) and followed that with nine saves in the win over Navy. Last season Onyshko recorded 233 saves, a mark which ranks No. 7 all-time on the 49er single season chart.
Brad Scoles: Senior Brad Scoles (Ashland, OR) has played in every game in his three-plus years at Long Beach State, 96 appearances in the pool. He has been in the starting lineup in 80 of those contests. Scoles kicked off the 2005 campaign in fine fashion, scoring seven goals at the Navy Labor Day Open. He scored in every game, including a season-high three goals in the win over Bucknell. Scoles, who scored 31 goals in both 2003 and 2004, currently is tied for #25 on the 49er career chart with 77 goals scored.
Stefan Ludecke: After scoring 11 goals last year in 21 starts, Stefan Ludecke (Hamburg, Germany) got off to a good start this season by scoring six goals at the Navy Open. Ludecke scored three goals in the 16-3 win over Iona and had two in the opener against St. Francis. The three goals scored against Iona is a career-high for him as a 49er. Ludecke is in his second season at Long Beach State after transferring from Long Beach City College where he was a two-time JC All-American.
Reid Tomassi: Junior Reid Tomassi (Winter Park, FL) scored seven goals at the Navy Open and now has 99 career goals as a 49er. He ranks #18 on the 49er career chart. Tomassi scored in every game last weekend, tallying two goals against St. Francis, Navy and Bucknell. An honorable mention All-MPSF performer last year, Tomassi finished second on the team last year with 41 goals scored.
Jay Gerardi: Junior Jay Gerardi (Long Beach) tallied six goals over the weekend at the Navy Open, but none was bigger than his second goal of the day against Navy. Gerardi scored on a penalty shot 48 seconds into sudden death to give the 49ers an 11-10 win over Navy. Gerardi scored in every game, also scoring twice against Iona. Last year he burst into the starting lineup and finished third on the team with 34 goals.
| LBSU CAREER GOALS SCORED | | 1. 231, Kyle Kopp (1987-89) | | 2. 205, Mike Burke (1988-91) | | 3. 174, Jeff Colyer (1995-98) | | 4. 165, Chris Segesman (1998-01) | | 5. 162, Grant Jeffries (1979-81, 83) | | 6. 160, Bob Dolan (1978-81) | | 7. 154, Kip Parsons (1992-93, 95) | | 8. 142, Scott Weir (1976-78) | | 9. 141, Erik Geoffroy (2001-03, 05) | | 10. 128, Chi Kredell (1989-91, 93) | | 18. 99, Reid Tomassi (2003-05) | | T25. 77, Brad Scoles (2002-05) | | -- 65, Brett McCleave (2004-05) |
|
